Here it is, everyone... THE DAY OF THE PROM!!!!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own, you don't sue.
Timmy walked down the street to Tootie's house, a small box in his hands, and apprehension in his eyes. Prom is supposed to be one of the greatest moments of your teenage life...what if something disastrous happened? What if the limo showed up? What if their dinner reservations were canceled? Tonight would be full of what if's. He sighed as he stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. He'd simply have to forget the what if's.
The door opened, and there stood Tootie's parents. The sight of their smiling faces made him forget any nervousness he once had. But still, everything felt so out of the ordinary: Tootie's mother gave him a huge hug..her dad shook his hand and clapped him on the back before instructing him to take good care of his little girl...and then she came down the stairs...
And the world stopped.
Veronica sat on her bed, another wave of nausea overcoming her. She stared at the dress on the floor. Well, her former prom dress. Currently, it was nothing more than a pile of pink fabric and lace. Sequins covered the floor like shining confetti.
Quite frankly, she wasn't quite sure what had possessed her to do it, but she had. She'd taken one last glance at her prom dress, and --knowing that she was still going to prom-- grabbed it, and pulled hard. The sequins had burst off the dress in an explosion of hot pink, and the dress tore in half. She continued this process until the dress looked more like shag carpet from the 70's.
She shut her eyes and sighed before opening them and walking over to her mirror so that she could chastise herself. What had she been thinking?She stared in disdain at her reflection, and opened her mouth to speak, but closed it, her expression softening. She had to admit, the new prom dress she'd purchased earlier looked much better on her.
She was garbed in a soft yellow strapless ankle length dress. The neckline plunged down to her waist in the front, only to reveal a darker shade of yellow. On her feet were black strappy sandals. Her hair was up in a bun with a few strands loose.
She smiled again, the nausea passing. Why had she been ready to chastise herself? She looked nice. "Besides," she said aloud to her reflection, "You look better as big bird than you do as a flamingo." She chuckled at her joke. It sounded so much like something Tad would say.
Tad...
She missed him so much. He was her best friend, and it made her feel horrible whenever she thought of how Taylor had "replaced" him. But how could he not? Taylor was so nice, and he listened to her problems. Most importantly, he accepted her for who she was. Just like Tad had. Even still, she knew that Tad would always have a special place in her heart for the rest of her life. She wanted to say that he could never be replaced. She yearned to. But she felt that saying so would be a lie.
Taylor sighed as he walked up the driveway to the mansion that Veronica lived in. For some reason, it felt like he was walking up a pathway to heaven...or down to hell. He wasn't sure why he felt intimidated by the mansion, why it felt like the house itself was scowling at him. Perhaps it knew that he wasn't being entirely honest with one of it's occupants?
"I promise I'll tell her everything." he said, immediately feeling foolish when he realized he was talking to a house. Paranoia does strange things to people. And to make matters worse, making a verbal promise only left him feeling like the house was now mercilessly laughing at him. He reached over and rang the doorbell. This was it. The evening would begin well, but he had no idea how it would end. He had a sickening feeling that after he explained things to Veronica, it'd only be by some unknown mercy that he didn't end up in a ditch somewhere.
The door opened and a pleasantly plump woman with curly red hair, glasses, and enough lipstick to be mistaken for a firetruck opened the door. After Taylor stepped into the house, the woman closed the door, and engulfed him in a huge --not to mention suffocating-- hug.
"Welcome!" She exclaimed in a yiddish accent, "it's been a long time, my boy, a very long time indeed!" Taylor blinked, wondering what she meant. They'd never met before. He'd been to her house when he walked Veronica home from school on the day of her breakdown, but he'd never seen her. Perhaps she was senile? In either case, it did nothing to stop her from placing a kiss on both cheeks before smiling widely and approving of his appearance.
"Grandma!" came a cry from the staircase. The woman directed her attention away from him, much to his relief, and smiled.
Taylor looked over at Veronica and his worries were all gone. She looked beautiful. "Wow." he breathed, "You look...um...wow."
"That better be a good wow." she grinned and walked over to punch him playfully in the arm.
"Ronnie!" her grandmother scolded softly, "You are dressed like a young lady, so you must act like one!" she turned to Taylor and explained, "I think it's the name. Veronica. The only nickname you can pull out of it is masculine. That is why she acts so boyishly at times. I told her parents, 'Give the girl a Polish name, you know, delicate, feminine. But do they listen to me? No. They insist on Veronica. Nice name and all, but look at how it makes her act like a boy, punching people. Do nice girls always punch each other?" she asked.
Taylor chuckled. Obviously, Veronica hadn't informed her about her WWF deathmatch with Trixie. Taylor raised an eyebrow at her before opening his mouth. As if reading his mind, she narrowed her eyes at him, giving him a silent warning. Taylor simply shut his mouth, a smug grin on his face.
"No." she continued, "I personally think it comes fr--
"Grandma!" Veronica cut in, her cheeks blushing pink. Taylor grinned. She was so cute when she blushed. "Taylor and I have to go."
"Oi!" Grandma chuckled and blushed, "I am sorry. You will learn soon enough, Taylor: when I start to ramble, it takes an army to settle me. Or Ronnie." after laughing at her own joke, she pushed the two of them gently towards the door. "Now be gone with you. And have fun!"
Taylor suppressed his laughter as the door shut behind them.
"And if you don't like the 'masculine' nickname, then quit calling me Ronnie!" she yelled at the door.
This time, Taylor did laugh. Outrageously.
"What?" Veronica asked with mock indignance.
"You---your grandma and you---"
"Oh shut up." she laughed. They walked to the limo waiting in the street, Taylor laughing the whole time. It was probably the last laugh he'd get for a long time.
Timmy stared in awe at the raven haired girl before him. She wore a dress in a shade of blue that was so exotic he almost didn't recognize that it was a shade of blue at all. A black choker was around her elegant neck, and her hair was in a beautiful twist. Blue sandals peeked out from underneath her floor length dress.
"Hi, Timmy." she smiled.
"Hi." was all he was able to say back. He could've stayed silent forever if it meant looking at her. After what seemed like an eternity of staring, he blushed, realizing that he was standing there like an idiot. "Um, I --are you ready to go?"
"Not so fast!" her mother cried out, "We need pictures!"
And that was exactly what they got. In fact, when the two teens finally walked outside, the dark sky looked like something from a negative photo: a white light.
Taylor looked at Veronica, who was now quietly looking out the window. He wasn't sure his his stomach flipped because he had to tell her his own secrets, just as she'd done, or because she looked so beautiful.
He sighed. He knew it had to be done. He'd wanted to wait until the end of the night, to tell her; after they'd had fun; after they'd strengthened their friendship just a little more. Because generally, great friends are more forgivable than good friends. But even still, he suspected that this would be the last time he ever talked to her.
He was unforgivable.
But in the end, he decided to tell her right away. That way she could avoid. That was it. Just...avoid. Avoid the regret of having spent a whole night with such a traitor and actually enjoying it. Avoid the humiliation that would probably follow. Avoid the pain of knowing that he was her friend, and making the mistake of thinking she was wrong.
This way, he could avoid some things also. He could avoid having to tell the truth in front of everyone rather than having them find out on their own. Avoid the look of shock in Timmy's eyes, followed by a look of anger that would say, You hurt so many people... Avoid the big argument that was sure to follow.
And even once they went their separate ways, they'd still avoid together. They'd avoid seeing each other. Avoid looking at each other.
Avoid tragedy.
With a sigh he looked up, only to find Veronica staring at him with her sinfully large blue eyes. He forced a grin, even though his heart leapt in terror. I'll never see that smile again. At least, not for me...
"What's up?"
"Nothing," he lied, feeling guilt, "Just thinking."
"This is prom night, buddy! There's no room for thinking. Well, except for thinking about not drinking and driving, and not...um..you know..." she blushed.
Taylor felt his own cheek color heightening to a shade of pink that he wouldn't dare look in the mirror to see. "Um...yeah...I know." he cleared his throat. "Hey, Veronica, I need to talk to you about something really important before we reach Timmy and Tootie--"
"--Too late, we're on their street." she grinned before flicking the switch to open the sunroof. She leapt across the open space to hug a surprised Taylor before pulling at his collar and pointing up.
Taylor raised an eyebrow, "Are you serious?"
"We only live once. I've wasted enough of my childhood trying to appeal to others. It's my turn to have fun." she grinned before standing and leaning out of the sunroof whooping at the top of her lungs.
Taylor sighed, disappointed. He'd have to tell her later. Until then, it wouldn't hurt to try and have fun... With a grin, he leapt up and leaned out of the sunroof so quickly that his head collided with her elbow. Maybe it would hurt to try and have fun. Veronica simply laughed and rubbed his head before continuing in her shouts. Taylor smiled and joined her, greeting Tootie and Timmy who were further down the road.
Yes, he'd tell Veronica later. Until then, a little happiness wouldn't hurt.
"Um...The limo will be here soon. It's picking up Veronica and Taylor." he said, for lack of anything better to say.
"That's fine. I need to talk to you anyway." she said, and took hold of his arm. He smiled. She smelled as sweet as the flowers growing on the tree in her front yard.
"Shoot." he said, ready to listen to the angel for the rest of his life.
"It's about Taylor." she said hesitantly. "I think that he may be--"
She was cut off by the sound of a horn honking. The limo pulled to a stop in front of the driveway. Taylor and Veronica were standing up, leaning out of the sunroof, hooting and cheering loudly.
"Come on, slowpokes, pick up the pace!" Veronica cheered.
Tootie blinked, "I definitely like this Veronica a lot better."
"I think everyone does." Timmy laughed, "But let's keep her away from the punch. She doesn't need anymore sugar."
"I heard that!" Veronica said before plopping back down through the sunroof. Taylor laughed. "Ooh, she's gonna get you..." he said while slowly sliding back down.
Tootie glanced at Timmy and he felt his cheeks starting to burn.
"Shall we?" he held out his arm.
"Of course." she smiled, and he led her to the limo, which pulled off into the night.
Two pick-ups, an hour, and many delicious meals later, they arrived at the Downtown Dimmadance Country Club, where the Prom was being held.
"So, what first? There's a lot of us in this group." Taylor said.
"Come on, Timmy, let's get our pictures done!" she grabbed his hand and pulled him off into the crowd."
Taylor looked at Chester, A.J., and their dates. "I guess it's just the six of us now."
"Ooh! Look, Cindy! They have cheese on really fancy plates! Oh, how I hope it's gouda!" he flashed his braceless teeth in a huge grin and pulled along a very love-struck Cindy.
Taylor sighed and looked at A.J., who was letting his date, Allison, fix his boutonniere. He looked over at Taylor and raised his eyebrows. "What?"
"Nothing. I was just expecting you to run off too. Everyone else did. Veronica, who was holding his arm, couldn't help but giggle. This was the kind of situation that one would expect to see in a cartoon!
"No, man, I was going to stick around." he shrugged before letting a smug, evil grin slowly grow on his face. "But if that's what you want..." he drawled, before turning to Allison, "Why, Allision, I do believe we've been insulted." he said with mock indignity. Allison chuckled before nodding in agreement.
"What say we take our presence where it is welcomed?" she took his arm and they quickly walked off into the crowd, but not before A.J. looked back and gave him a smug grin. "Bye..." he mouthed.
Taylor rolled his eyes, amused, and Veronica laughed.
"Ok...I guess it's the two of us."
"Let's dance!" she grinned at him eagerly and yanked him into the crowd.
A good eight dances later, a slow dance came on. Taylor looked hesitantly at Veronica, who sheepishly looked down at the floor. Taylor smirked, "Are you really that shy?"
She shyly looked up at him. "Nope." Before he had a chance to react, she had reached out and yanked him close to her so hard that he wondered when he'd actually moved so close. "Getting a little bold, are we, miss?"
"Hey, what can I say?" Veronica giggled at his surprise. Taylor grinned. After a moment, he looked down at Veronica. She was staring at his shoulder, but on her face was the most wonderful expression. It was an expression that he knew so well that it was like finally seeing your favorite family member after several years. She was reminiscing. Her eyes were pointed at his shoulder, but they were unfocused, as what she was "seeing" wasn't really there, but in her mind's eye. Her lips were slightly parted, and her face was filled with calm.
He couldn't help but stare with a smile. Finally, she blinked and looked up at him, her eyes meeting his. "I'm sorry, I was just thinking."
"Tad?" he guessed.
"Sorry." she apologized, "I shouldn't be, but..."
"It's ok. I understand." he smiled at her.
"...but I couldn't help it. You just look..."
"Don't worry about it."
"..so much like him."
"I really don't mind--what?" Taylor blinked in surprise. That was one thing that he certainly hadn't been expecting.
"Have you seen him lately?" Taylor felt idiotic for even asking, because he knew the answer.
"No. But when I imagine what he looks like now, I see you."
"Oh, really?" Taylor gave a small smile, "And why is that?"
"Well..."she shook her head, "It doesn't matter." After a moment, she managed to look him in the eye and smile. Taylor couldn't do anything except for smile back. Quite frankly, he wouldn't have been able to do anything else if he tried. It was near impossible to look into her eyes, and still function properly. As a matter of fact, the only thing to do was to let pure instinct take over.
Which is how he found himself mirroring her actions when she leaned in towards him. So many thoughts and emotions ran through his mind as he found himself closer and closer to her. So many, that right as their lips were about to touch, he shook his head and leaned back. "No."
Veronica's eyes fluttered open.
"I can't." were the next words to reluctantly leave his mouth.
"Oh." she said softly.
"Not yet, anyway." he added to make her feel better, even though he knew that later, she'd never want to look at him again. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be." she forced a smile, "It was my fault. I tried to kiss you. I was just thinking about Tad again. Back when we were about ten, we were practicing a dance for a ballroom class that our moms were forcing us to take. It was around this time that I liked Timmy."
Taylor raised an eyebrow, deeply intrigued now. "Really? Please, do continue."
Veronica, obviously pleased that there were no hard feelings, did just that. "Well, at least I let everyone think that I liked him. I'd "secretly" obsess over him, hoping to get caught. I'd stalk him, and tease him, and...it was just crazy." she chuckled, "But I only acted like that because really, I liked Tad. And I mean I liked Tad. He was who I was crazy about."
Taylor gave her a smile, "Are you going to continue?"
"Talking about another boy doesn't bother you?"
"As long as this 'other boy' thing happened when you were ten, knock yourself out." he laughed. Veronica grinned and continued, "But, yeah, I really like him, you know? So anyway, we were practicing our dance. The competition was only a day away and we hardly had the moves down. We were a couple of clumsy spazzes."
"You've improved a lot since then." he noted, complimenting her on her dancing skills. She blushed and smiled, "So we decided if we were going to at least improve a little bit, we should probably figure out how to hold each other. So he had taken my hand in his, and I'd put my other hand on his shoulder. He was blushing because he had to put his hand on my waist. I remember that. So he was stalling, looking around the room, trying to look at everything but me. And I thought he looked so cute like that, you know? So I got really bold and tried to kiss him. And right when I leaned forward, he discovered that his shoe was untied. So he bent down, and I leaned forward, and …it didn't end well."
"Ouch." Taylor said solemnly. A fluttering sensation lay at the bottom of his stomach as he looked down at his feet, moving slowly with hers to the rhythm of the music.
"Yeah well anyway, it's just that you and me dancing…it made me think about kissing Tad. And it made me wonder if it would be the same as kissing you."
Taylor looked up just as she looked away, a horrified expression on her face. She must've sensed him looking at her, because she sheepishly looked back at him. "That didn't come out right."
"Hmm-hmm." he gave a brief, smug nod to show that he didn't believe her.
"I-I…I just meant that because y-you remind me of him---a-and…well, I…" she stammered, "And because…I dunno what I was…I lost my head for a s… say something, please?" she added feebly.
Taylor couldn't help it. He bit his tongue so that he wouldn't start laughing. Then he pressed his lips against hers. The sudden new warmth against his mouth made his face flush. As much as he wished he could stay there, he pulled back forced himself to look her in the eye. "So?" he managed to say, despite his heart threatening to tear out of his chest at any second. The pink cheeked girl in front of him blinked once. Twice.
"Well…If I imagined Tad kissing me, I guess it would feel exactly like that." she finally managed to say.
"Exactly like that?" Taylor grinned, his stomach fluttering again.
"Exactly like that." she said, "Because metaphorically speaking, you're my new Tad."
Taylor sighed. He wasn't sure if this was what he wanted to hear or not. So he settled for it. "Good enough."
Another slow song started.
"So." Taylor said awkwardly, "We kissed."
"Yeah."
Taylor sighed. His stomach was churning, but now with guilt. He couldn't do this to her anymore. "We need to talk now."
"Can we talk and dance?"
Taylor placed his hands on her waist and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Now then, tell me." she instructed, a friendly tone in her voice.
He hesitated. Where did he start? How do you tell someone something like what he was about to say? "Uh…well…I…it's about…Tad, actually."
" I already know."
"You do?" he blinked in surprise. But how?
"Yeah. You know him. I knew it. It wasn't hard to figure out. I just figured you didn't want to say anything because you liked me and felt guilty. I just let it go. I knew you'd tell me when you were ready."
Taylor exhaled, not quite sure what to say. Veronica blinked, "Well that's it, isn't it?"
"Well…kinda." he said slowly.
"Well that's fine." she said quickly before letting a torrent of questions run out of her mouth like a broken faucet. "So how is he doing? What's he been up to? Does he have a girlfriend? You do know all of this, right?" she hesitated before sighing, "Does he remember me?"
Taylor looked her in the eye and hesitated before drawling, "Fine, nothing, no, and yes, in that order. And yes, he remembers you."
He couldn't quite recall when they'd stopped dancing and began to simply stand their. His hand was intertwined with hers, his other on her waist while her other hand rested on his shoulder. Yet, their feet had stopped moving.
Part of Taylor felt relieved. Yet, the other part was nagging him in guilt. He'd gotten out part of the truth. But he hadn't gotten out the whole truth. It would have to come out eventually. A part of him wondered what made him think she'd be angry when she heard him out. Maybe she'll be happy. He thought, half heartedly. He knew good and well that she wouldn't be happy to find out that her new confidante was a liar and nothing more. But it was better to get it out sooner. He sighed, "You kn--"
"I remember when we were 8." Veronica interrupted, her eyes filled with a combination of excitement, and amusement, "We were by the creek, catching tadpoles. I had fallen and cut my finger on a rock. It was nothing big, actually, but I was making a huge fuss about it. So he kissed my finger and told me it would be alright."
She really missed him. She truly missed her best friend. She truly needed her best friend. Now, more than ever. And yet, she had nothing more than empty friendships and a traitorous liar to lean on. Taylor felt a pang of guilt larger than the last as the thought flew into his mind.
"He was my real best friend." she said quietly. "At least, he was supposed to be. But ever since he moved to England, he's been ignoring my calls. Maybe he wants to forget about me. But to me, he's still my best friend." she grinned at Taylor, "I'll never forget: Tad Wendell Valentine."
"Actually…"
Veronica blinked, surprised to find someone other than herself there listening to her go on and on about her former best friend. She giggled, obviously embarrassed. Taylor paid it no mind. He simply continued, "Actually…You know that the only reason he's called Tad is because he ate a tadpole when he was 2, right?"
Veronica blinked, "Really?"
"I was the only one who knew that." he said, keeping his eyes on his feet. "After the little tadpole eating incident, his mother called him Tad for the rest of the day. He begged and begged to be called that forever. He thought his real name was too girly, you know?" he let out his breath, glad to find something to say.
Veronica, however, narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh? And just what is this girly name that nobody knew about?"
Taylor looked from his foot to hers. How pretty her toes were, the nails decorated with a pale pink. One…two…three…four….five nails covered in pink. Five more on the other foot, neither of which were moving. He forced himself to look up at the beautiful girl that clung to his neck.
She was staring at him through narrow eyes again, but this time, as if she were observing something. Finally, her cheeks drained in color as her blue eyes widened. It all made sense now: his hesitation to say things, his uncanny ability to make her laugh, the way he'd held her in the girls bathroom. And now, the reason why he could barely look her in the eye now after weeks of misguiding. She'd finally put his silence and hesitation together and multiplied it by her recognition. It made a perfect formula. "…Tad?" she said, staring at him in disbelief.
Slowly he shook his head. "Not Tad." he said, his voice halting hesitantly, yet pressing on with a depressed tone that was as clear as uncut ice. "Taylor." He forced himself to look in her eyes. "Taylor Wendell Valentine."
THE STORY IS NOT OVER YET!!! and if you thought it was, you must be crazy!
Ok, so I bet you guys weren't expecting that little twist. XD I'll hae you know that this was the hardest chapter for me to write. Simply because I didn't want you guys to know "the big surprise" until he actually said it. I didn't want there to be any hints, unless they were super subtle. Basically, whenever I wrote from Taylor's point of view, it was SUPER hard, because I had to get the point across in a way that didn't give anything away, and would be an eye-opener once you re-read it with the knowledge of Tad's true identity. But now that you know that Taylor really is Tad, then if you re-read through this and previous chapters, you'll probably see the true meaning behind some of the things he says. (and some things will hit you and you'll go, "Ohhhhhhh!!! I totally get it now!" lol)
As a matter of fact, most things he says and most of the narratives about him were written so that they'd make sense for the situation. But then you re-read back it, you can kind of see the true, hidden meaning behind everything. I'll give you a few examples from this chapter,
1. Tootie grinned, "If you got a penny for every time somebody else said that, you'd be a rich man. Super rich!" Tootie could've sworn that when she said that, Taylor went a little bit pale, and his smile faded a bit. (chapter 4) It was kind of obvious from the beginning that Tad didn't want his "new" friends to see his house. When Tootie later mentions being rich, we now know why he pales. He think she knows something.
2. "I wish I coulda seen that!" Taylor laughed, "Timmy was so mean to her then." (Chapter 6) Obviously, whoops, Taylor slipped up. He makes a nice save later on, though.
3. Trixie? he thought, This is Trixie? Wow. She's certainly a lot different from what I thought she'd be like. (chapter 7) Now, obviously, it makes a lot of sense without even knowing that he's acutally Tad. But when we know that he's Tad, this statement can be taken as him basically saying: "Trixie? This is Trixie? Wow. I didn't expect her to be like this. I thought she'd grow up a little bit."
Obviously, I pulled this out of some stuff that didn't really matter, but I'm sure that you can find more if you look for it. And obviously, the chapter that holds the most of these "hidden meaning statements" is Chapter 10. Just reread through it and remember that Taylor is actually Tad, but nobody knows it yet". And of course, if you're too lazy to do that, but still want to know what the statements are, or if you're just plain confused over what just happened and need a question answered, just send me a Private Message, and I'll be more than happy to send you an answer, or whatever you need. :)
Thanks for reading and reviewing and stay tuned. We still have a LOOOONNNG way to go before this story reaches it's conclusion.
